Rogue Queen ➵

➵ XXXVIII. Come This Far

Tuesday, February 20th, 2018, 6:30am

Come This Far - Chloe Kohanski

Asher's POV

My eyes snap open, my breathing coming in quick pants, body covered in a cold sweat. My eyes shoot around the room, stopping on Killian as he lies next to me, watching me.

"Nightmare?" he asks softly, his hand still grasping mine.

I nod, trying to calm my breathing.

The chains rattle as Killian shifts position, his fingers never untangling from mine. The chains around my wrists are longer than the ones around his, and just long enough for us to be able reach each other and hold hands. It's comforting, knowing that there's someone here that I can trust, and holding hands helps assure me that he's really here, it's not just my imagination.

"Want to share what it was about?" Killian asks softly.

I hesitate. "Just... Alix and Falcon... You know..."

Killian nods, squeezing my hand gently. "No one sees you any different, you know. Knowing it happened doesn't make us see you as dirty or anything. I see you as strong. A survivor. And I know everyone else does too. Whatever King said, tried to get you to believe, it's not true, got it?"

I sigh softly but nod. "I... Don't think I'll get anymore rest... Can you... Distract me?"

"Of course," Killian replies. "Do you want to cuddle too?"

"Killian," I say, pushing him lightly.

"I'm not teasing you, if that's what you're thinking," Killian replies, his temporarily green eyes meeting mine, expression dead serious. "No, I'm not known for being serious, but I do know when to joke and when to not. And cuddles are always nice."

I nod slowly. "Alright. Cuddles."

Killian smiles, moving closer to me. We lie chest to chest, his arm wrapping around my waist, hand resting gently against my back. I don't feel safe with someone behind me, and Killian must know that, which is why we don't spoon instead.

"So, how do you want to me to distract you?" Killian asks softly.

"Well, there's a lot about your time as a rogue I don't know about, if you don't mind sharing about that?" I suggest.

Killian smiles slightly. "Before or after we rescued Zaine? Things definitely got more interesting when he moved in."

I chuckle softly, a sound that somehow sounds foreign to my ears. "I can imagine. How about when you rescued him?"

I watch his expression darken slightly, anger rising within him. I know it's directed towards Zaine's old coven, the ones who hurt him.

"It was the second or third month after we first met King," Killian says softly. "That's when we agreed we were trained and skilled enough to actually attack someone for real, not just practice... A rogue had been watching Zaine's coven, knew they were abusing him, and told us. We made a plan and everything. It was dusk when we started sneaking up and surrounding the coven's territory. There was a ward placed around it, to keep invaders out, but it was weak, easily broken. They had forced Zaine to hold the spell, one too hard for someone his age and skill level.

"Some of our rogues attacked as a diversion, so others could sneak into the main house. We had to fight passed the witches and warlocks that stayed behind to guard the house..." Killian's voice and eyes become distant as he continues. "You don't forget your first kill. It's like a milestone, that marks when it's official. You're officially a killer. Sure, it's for the right reasons, but you've still taken a life and ended it..."